Whatever It Takes

We have been working with Aden to sit on the potty for quite some time. Each time we have faced a severe lack of motivation on his part. But, now that we are settled in again after returning from our home assignment, we've decided to tackle potty training again. And we'll do whatever it takes to get him to sit for a while.

Such as . . .

. . . motivation from his younger brother. Although Wiley is only 17 months old, he has quite an interest in the potty chair just his size in the bathroom. He seems to enjoy sitting on the potty, and for a few weeks all we had to do was mention the potty and he would take off for the bathroom. There are certain books he likes to read on the potty, and he has even had some success sitting on the potty at just the right time. Aden is usually there, not necessarily ready to use the potty himself, but certainly ready to clap and cheer on his younger brother. Once we started rewarding Wiley with an m&m each time he had success, Aden decided to sit on the potty, too.

. . . the foot bath. One morning while Wiley was sitting on the potty we thought it would help him if we put his feet in water. (We had realized that he often feels a need to "go" when his feet touch his bath water.) So we turned the bathroom step stool upside-down and put some warm water in it. Almost immediately, Wiley had success! And Aden had finally found new motivation to sit on the potty chair himself! We put fresh water in the stool and called it a foot bath. The foot bath was so inviting that Mommy also put her feet in and gave herself a brief pedicure.

. . . motivation from friends. Aden's good friend Olivia came to our house with her family to join us for dinner last week. While the adults visited around the table after dinner, Aden came running down the hall from where the children were playing. He excitedly announced with wide eyes, "Mommy! Olivia went pee-pee in the big potty!" Although she didn't necessarily want to encourage co-ed potty time, Mommy responded with enthusiasm, "Wow!! Maybe you can learn to do that, too!"

. . . the timer. When Aden is in the middle of play, it can be difficult to convince him that he needs to stop and sit on the potty. So Mommy introduced the timer. He only has to sit on the potty until the timer goes off, but at least it gets him in a bit of a routine.

. . . a party. After Aden's birthday, he wanted to know when he could have cake again, and when we could hang the birthday banners again. We told him we would on Daddy's birthday (which was yesterday), but then added that when he learned to keep his diaper dry, and could sit on the potty, and then could wear big boy pants, we would have a party for him and he could invite whoever he wanted to come celebrate with him.

We're not sure which of these has been the greatest motivator, but we have seen some progress. Aden sometimes talks about the party he will have, sometimes is willing to admit that he wants to keep his diaper dry, sometimes has success on the potty, and sometimes even sits for a LONG time until he has success. This evening we were ready to head out the door, when Aden told us he wanted to sit on the potty. We gave him just a few minutes - when Wiley was dressed and ready we would have to leave. But while we were getting Wiley ready, Aden proudly announced that he had used his potty! We aren't holding our breath yet, but perhaps he is becoming a "big boy", and perhaps soon we'll be blogging about a Potty Party.